Dry-All First Aid Kits for Wet Electronics

Just last week, we had to replace a laptop because my daughter had somehow gotten a little moisture in hers. It’s shocking how much damage can be done by just a small spill. Unfortunately, Dry-All doesn’t have a kit sized for laptops, but they do offer Emergency Kits for cellphones, smartphones, and tablets and ebook readers that have gotten wet or even submerged. These kits use Dry-All’s proprietary Blue Bead Technology – a powerful, high-quality dehumidifier that’s inert and non-flammable. The cellphone kit and the kit for tablets/ebook readers come with a sealable bag, and the smartphone kit comes with Dry-All’s patent-pending “absorption chamber.” Depending on the kit, your device can be dried out in as few as 6 hours. Dry-All says that these kits will remove 100% of the moisture inside the device when used according to directions. The cellphone kit is $29.99, smartphone kit is $59.99, and the tablet/ereader kit is $49.99. You might want to keep one of these kits on hand in case you have a habit of knocking over sodas, like my daughter and I do.

@Duncan I’ve heard people talk about using it, but rice has a lot of dust in it. I’d be afraid it would get in the ports and controls of my device and clog them up. I don’t think the desiccant would be as dusty. Have you tried rice to rescue a wet device? Did it work well?

I save all of those little desiccant packs that come inside everything from purses to jeans. They are essentially what this stuff is anyway. If a spill occurs, wet item has it’s battery removed (if possible) and all the parts to into a plastic shoebox filled with the desiccant packs. It’s worked so far, on everything except my very expensive car key, but that was probably my fault, because it stayed wet for a whole day until I could get it home and in it, and kept pushing the stupid buttons in the hope that I could use it. Best of all, those packs are free.

I have a computer store and we always have customers come in with spilled coffee, soda, wine, etc on their laptops. Most important thing is to NOT TURN ON THE LAPTOP after the spill (even if you think you dried up the spill). Most laptops can survive a spill. It will auto cut power. But if you turn it on right away then that will short it out. What we do at the store is we have non-conductive cleaner solution. First we take the motherboard out then we soak it in the solution then let air dry. The solution will remove all residue and clean the whole motherboard. Then we just let air dry for a few minutes. Works all the time…assuming the customers didn’t short the board out already. Another way is to just let the laptop site on its side for a week to just let air dry but then you’ll still have the smell and sticky residue inside the laptop.

Rice works great. I have used it several times. My daughter left her iPod Touch in her pants and it went through a complete cycle of the washer and dryer. When we found it, it was not working at all. I put it in a box of rice overnight, the next day it powered up and works fine to this day over a year later.

My boss dropped his iPhone in the toilet. He also put the phone in rice and it dried it out and still works.

Concerning spilling sodas, that’s why I always drink sodas that come in bottles with screw tops. If I use a can, I put one of those pop tops on them that have a screw cap on them. Reduces spills considerably. With all my computers and laptops, not to mention my program listings and notes written in water soluble ink, I’m very concerned about spills.

Rice works very well, dust isn’t any worse then what most devices are subjected to daily. However in an I can see a product like this would work faster, but usually in an emergency you are not prepared with a product like this. Most people have rice in easy reach and a ziplock bag.